Alim Qasimov is widely appreciated for his renderings of ‘mugham’, the most complex musical style in Azerbaijan. It’s the classical music of the Caucasus and of the Turkish-speaking peoples in Central Asia. The word mugham itself derives ‘maqam’, denoting the modus in Arabic music.

The notion of mugham also applies to the performers: the singer, and the ensemble. Within the latter you’ll always find three instrumentsthe tar (lute), the standing kamanche (violin) and the daf (percussion).

In 1999 Alim Qasimov gained one of the highest awards that any musician can aspire to when he became the winner of the 1999 International IMC UNESCO Music Prize. Alim Qasimov has also participated in Yo-Yo Ma?s Silk Road Project.

Fargana Qasimova, Alim?s daughter, has absorbed her father?s musical gift, and is well on the way to becoming a great singer in her own right. Sensitively accompanied by Rauf Islamov, Rafael Asgarov, Natig Shirinov and Ali Asgar Mammadov, all members of distinguished musical lineages, the Qasimovs present the art of mugham and the tradition of the bardic ashiq at their zenith.

Mugam D'Azerbaidjan, Vol. 2 (Inedit, 1990)

Legendary Art of Mugham (Network 37, 1998)

Love's Deep Ocean (Network 34411, 2000)

Music of Central Asia 6: Alim & Fargana (Smithsonian Folkways, 2007)

Rainbow: Music Of Central Asia Vol. 8 (CD + DVD) (Smithsonian Folkways, 2010)